Why the most famous can't be the best

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So far in this blog I have steered clear of controversial positions, but here I will go out on limb: being the most famous musician of a certain class-say, conductor, pianist, cellist, tenor-not only means you may not be the best, it guarantees that you will not be. The very act of media edification of you will make it impossible for you.

Becoming famous involves a lot more than being good-there is shrewd and lucky publicity, personality, charisma, individualism and much else. And these are the things-the very things that help make you more famous-that ultimately make it so difficult to keep up the quality of your work. The conflict between continuing to grow and change artistically and reinforcing what made you famous in the first place creates an unbearable tension.The fame itself becomes part of your identity as an artist. And inevitably, you wonder why you are the anointed one. And once you think you have it figured out, then you are in real trouble. That is why so many famous performers slide into self parody(Pavorotti)or find themselves doing odd things to keep themselves interested that perhaps are not the best things to share with the world (YoYo Ma trying to play bluegrass). They are inhibited artistically by their fame, and I am pretty sure that this inhibition is part of being famous. The great artists of the second tier have a chance to continue to grow without having to contend with this conflict, to the benefit of their art.

I think anyone who thinks about it for a minute knows that Lang Lang is not a "better" pianist than Piotr Anderszewski and that YoYo is not "better" than Mischa Maisky. The simple truth is that there are many performers in the world on an exalted level, and many of the best are unknown to us (one of the great things about YouTube is our ability to find great artists we would never know about otherwise).

In this regard, often the best performances by the most exalted artists come from the period before their greatest fame. I have heard an exquisite Boheme with Pavarotti that he did at La Scala with Kleiber in 1979, in which he sings beautifully and without the cliches that we associate with him. Horowitz's 1930's recordings are astonishing, and astonishingly beautiful; and pre-NBC Toscanini includes some real gems that are far less grimly hard driven than the pretty unlistenable recordings from his last years.

In the hopes of promoting some truly unfamous talent, google the following: the pianists Hubert Harry, Mindru Katz and Ignace Tiegermann. And then buy or download the recordings. Each of them are great artists, equal of anyone who ever played the piano, but they are totally unknown. How many more like them lurk out there?